1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to videogames played on electronic devices and, more particularly, to increasing user engagement with videogames.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Electronically played games (sometimes referred to as “videogames,” or “computer games”) are programs executed on various electronic devices. The games may be played on such electronic devices as computers, game-specific computers (referred to as “videogame consoles”) and portable electronic devices, such as phones, PDA's, portable media players, handheld videogame devices, etc. During play of videogames, a user interacts with the electronic device by using input devices to respond to the game, such as by solving puzzles, making choices, and executing hand-eye coordination movements in response to the displayed videogame images.
Many videogames allow customization of the user's representation in the videogame (referred to as the player character.) Further, the videogames often offer the user a variety of choices that determine a course of action, e.g., multiple ways to solve a puzzle, multiple dialogue choices to interact with a non-player character, etc. In many games, the user's character and choices are integrated into a story. The story may or may not be responsive to the user's character and choices. Typically, the user's position in the game (or place in the story) is recorded automatically or manually though the use of recorded data. This data is often recorded or “saved” as a file (referred to as a “saved game”). However, after completion of the videogame, the user's interaction with the game (and any story presented in the game) is complete. Further, the user may be unable to directly access the saved game file to view any data recorded throughout the game. Even if the user is able to access the saved game file, the recorded data may be difficult to relate to the game and/or the story, and may be recorded in a format unrecognizable to the user.